By Jamie Resker & Paul Plotczyk
Most of us are still managing a jittery and worried workforce. Even if your company is doing well or is on the rebound your team may be shouldering a tremendous amount stress due to outside factors.
Here are four things you can do to lower stress levels and create a more positive workplace. You won't have to get budget approval for any of them so why not give it a try?
1. Stretching IS the Norm – Try Goal Setting for Results
Stretch goals have historically been a mechanism to get people to expand their skills and abilities and build competencies. However, with all of the cutbacks most companies have had to initiate, stretching - doing more with less, working in unfamiliar areas, doing a job that you have not necessarily been trained for - may now be the new norm.
In today's environment, a set of realistic, achievable goals may be more welcome and productive. The fear/worry/anxiety many people feel over their jobs and the future of their company does not need to be compounded by a set of goals that may have been tough to reach even in the best of times.
Success, a feeling of accomplishment and contribution to the business, may help off-set the feelings generated by a crappy economy and an uncertain future – while still achieving effective performance.
2. Straight Talk - The Brutal Truth or Humane Practice?
With all of the changes, layoffs and restructuring occurring across most industries, everyone needs to know where they stand. Finding out that the business is closing or that the workforce has to be reduced by another 12% early on may not be welcome news but can certainly aid in people's planning.
Leaving the difficult conversations to the last minute is, at a minimum, unfair and in some cases downright cruel. The last thing you want to hear is, “I wish you had told me this before. I just applied for refinancing through a new program so I could keep my home…”.
You may discover that you are avoiding the difficult conversations because you don't have a heck of a lot of information – and certainly you have no guarantees about the tenure of their job – or yours! But sometimes having a discussion about the future you want to create and what you envision their role in it to be, can help give people some sense of optimism.
Something to consider: for each of us, our actions today – our performance – is in line with how we perceive the future. That is, if the future looks futile, and maybe even threatening or impossible, we will act accordingly today. If the future looks possible, interesting, fun, profitable … performance will follow.
We recently heard a story of a commercial real estate employee who was worried about his job security. He emailed another colleague - who would be in the know! - asking him if there were any impending job cuts. Within a couple of hours of sending the email, he received a phone call from this colleague. This was not a usual occurrence so his heart sank as he felt sure the colleague was calling to confirm his worst fear. But in fact, the colleague was actually calling to let him know he had just gotten a hole in one! The lesson here is that people want to be in the know and should be in the loop early on.
So if our actions today are based on how we perceive the future, it might be beneficial for all concerned if we can let people know that they are important to the future of the enterprise, and that you want them to stick it out. (See a good example of this in the Question of the Month, “Organizational Groundhog Day” in this issue.)
3. And You Thought They Had No Place to Go - Keeping Your Stars
We continue to hear of companies cherry-picking from their rivals - even in the tough world of retail. Although that may not come as much of a surprise to many - after all, some companies plan to come out of this recession ahead of the game! - the companies which are loosing their best talent are often quite surprised. They didn't think that their stars had to be told they were “keepers.” See above for tips on how to clue them in and provide some hope for the future.
Speak up and let your high, middle and your up-and-coming developing performers know they are valued and that you enjoy having them as part of the team. Check for engagement. Ask, “Are you happy working here? “Are you getting what you need?” “Are you working on the things you want?" "What new role/task/project/team/skill would you like to try to get involved in?”
Also, other than the weather here in our home territory of New England, the number one conversation among workers seems to be the crappy economy. A conversation about the future can also be a good time to identify some cues and clues that could offer glimmers of hope for an uptick in business. At least it will provide some things for people to look for and talk about that show some movement out of the current economic mire!
4. Address and Stop Destructive and Disruptive Behaviors
We all know who the offenders are our organizations. They are the employees and managers who make it difficult for others to get their jobs done. It is easy to identify the bad actors in our organizations who exhibit bad behaviors, but most people who could intervene fail to do so because they are uncertain about how to deal with the problem. That's because most leaders charged with addressing behavior-based issues have little or no experience or training in dealing with this challenge. Consequently, we often see patterns of disruptive behavior emerge when they could have been prevented through the right kind of early intervention.
We recently had a conversation with a nurse and asked her to share a story of unprofessional behavior that she had observed. Her story: “We had this guy who was promoted to clinical coordinator for the surgical facility; a job that oversees the scheduling of patients and staff for patient surgery. As nurses we knew which anesthesiologists, physicians and nurse teams worked best together and we would request changes to the schedule to insure a high quality patient care experience. The new clinical coordinator would always respond with the same comment, “Bite me”. He was a complete jerk -- and to add insult to injury-- his behavior was well known. But it still took two long years before he was demoted from the position and replaced by someone who was both competent and professional.”
It can be a challenge when our most technically competent employees (even those of senior rank) exhibit behaviors that are disruptive. These are the employees who have all of the skills and talent you want, but whose attitudes and issues drain your energy, contribute to creating a toxic environment and suck the life out of your high and mid-level performers. Our work days are filled with enough stress, uncertainty and tension. Make the work environment as collaborative, supportive, collegial and pleasant as possible by addressing and stopping bad behavior in its tracks.
Conclusion
If you are tempted to give any of these ideas a try but aren't quite sure how to do it effectively give us a call and we will share some tips and real-world anecdotes that might help. Contact Beth Chartier at 781-343-4008 or bchartier@wsa-intl.com to arrange a conversation.
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